Sì (dessert)

Sì
Chinese 𥻵

Sì (pronounced [si˥˧], Min Dong Chinese: 𥻵, transcribed as sì in Foochow Romanized) is a traditional spherical dessert made from glutinous rice, eaten in celebration of the Winter Solstice festival in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China. It is usually produced without stuffing. The sì is made by grinding glutinous rice into a powder, pressing the powder until almost dry, and then rolling the dry powder into a spherical shape, and finally add fried (even burnt) soybean powder mixed with brown sugar onto the glutinous rice sphere.

The pronunciation of 𥻵 is the same as 時 (time, fortune) in Fuzhou dialect of Chinese, and as a result, Fuzhou people believe that eating sì may result in good fortune.[1][2][3]

Folk rhyme

Fuzhou Chinese
(Chinese characters) 		Fuzhou Chinese
(Foochow Romanized) 		English Translation

搓𥻵之搓搓，
依奶疼依哥。
依哥有老媽，
依弟單身哥。

Chŏ̤ sì chĭ chŏ̤ chŏ̤,
ĭ-nā̤ tiáng ĭ-gŏ̤.
ĭ-gŏ̤ ô lâu-mā,
ĭ-diê dăng-sĭng-gŏ̤.

Making Sì, roll and roll,
The mother dearly loves the elder brother.
(After) the elder brother has a wife,
The younger brother is (still) single.

References

  1. ↑ (in simplified Chinese)福州市志，方志出版社，1998.12，ISBN 7-80122-400-0
  2. ↑ (in simplified Chinese)官桂铨，福州团圆节——冬至，福州市档案局(馆)
  3. ↑ (in simplified Chinese)福州搓𥻵过冬节，福州新闻网
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